Manga 119484 Kyoushitsu Jibaku Club

Don't waste your time on this, unless you enjoy "revenge fantasies".

First, there was no need for two parallel stories and some overarching entity. It could be one case with higher stakes and a subsequent detective part. There are too many characters, none of which get any depth at all. Making everyone into a stereotype or a caricature — especially the bullies.

Look, I've seen bullying and experienced it a bit myself, and for the life of me, I can not understand why in these stories bullying is always taken to the ridiculous extremes — going as far as mutilating the victims and outright killing ... them. You have to understand, that bullies are people. And not in a philosophical sense, I'm not trying to preach here. What I mean is that they have their own lives and thoughts, and actual sociopaths and psychos never rise up to be bullies in a social hierarchy. Because bullying is, sadly, a very social act in its nature, and those types have trouble fitting into society to begin with. If you have to make the bully be a literal devil to justify your revenge — maybe you're the one who's off the rocks here?

I could also talk at length about how ridiculous the bombings are made to be in this manga, but this would bloat the review and, frankly, look rather silly. So let's leave this at "suspension of disbelief" territory.

Maybe instead of writing the 100th revenge fantasy, where "I kill all the bullies and all the meanies and I am edgy", write an actual story and have something deeper to say? Like a commentary on why bullying is even a thing, and why it's such a problem at Japanese schools?

Wait, actually, I can recommend a story somewhat like that — Bokutachi ga Yarimashita. It deals with similar themes and more, but gives actual depth to the characters and has something to say. Read it instead of this time waster.

WARNING - Strictly my opinion and perspective

inadequate - lacking the quality or quantity required; insufficient for a purpose.

Notes
- Interesting plot
- Unneeded nudity
- Extreme to be extreme
- Twists

... Summary
I was vaguely interested in it at the beginning only for it to take what I felt was a sudden turn going away from what had gotten me interested in the first place. I didn't feel very attached to characters that would be killed off though I may have speed read to a extent. there were many unnecessary moments yet I still finished the book so take that as you will. i don't really know if the author was making an attempt to address the issue of bullying but it sure didn't help the issue in anyway.

All the live action adaptation problems, but in the source material.

Two sides of the same story, bombing victim Takumi, reunites the survivors from a bullying victim motivated school bombing in hopes to find the accomplice, or culprit. While on the other side, a girl is doing another bombing threat, with the situation unfolding and falling apart on both ends.

As a story, think on the potential here. A bombing cult with the objective of stopping bullying. Polarizing in so many levels, a message about the importance of the message, and the execution of the message itself. At which point does a message change from importance, ... to fear? It was there, and it was doing so good, even with such an extreme narrative, and edgy execution. The manga had a purpose, but it had so little time to actually develop the concepts properly.

The players are; normal folk, bombing victims, bullying victims, bullies, the cult, and the police. With those simple sides, you've got layers upon layers of pure character, perspectives which contribute to the point of the story. They all have a say in the matter, and if only the story touched upon those with care, and purpose. The manga could've easily been an impactful piece of media that makes a mark in the middle of the edgy climate. Sadly, that wasn't the case.

13 chapters isn't enough to treat such a cocktail of polarizing themes. Every scene was missing the conflict, the empathy, the perspective from outsiders. It doesn't have respect for the actual themes it's portraying, not that there's a lack of trying, but a lack of depth. It isn't as simple as a revenge fantasy. Nothing is as simple as mentioning “You erased their dreams”. You need to show the true destruction of life, the true perspective on those that create a complete cult around stopping bullying. So much missing. The manga only reached surface-level messaging. I gained nothing from reading this, when it could've easily been an absolute 9/10 if every character was fleshed out.

Lack of respect, lack of nuance, not even touching the bare minimum towards bullying, terrorism, victims, rape, the mental health effects, the repercussions of survival, even if there was always a moment trying to achieve it. Instead of a lack of trying, there's a complete failure. I don't blame the artist, but the story itself.

In terms of art, probably the greatest part. There's holding on frames, true feeling of pain in injuries, detail that adds to scenes, and a very distinct personality that compliments the themes with a strange innocence to the designs.

The other problems I have with it are, as I said before, it feels like a stripped down version of a way better story. The pacing was abhorrent, the naming, and constant “he said, she said”, doesn't allow us to get in gripes with any personality on the panels. Not only was it a badly constructed theme, but a badly told story in general.

3.7/10. I wish the manga had a higher respect for what it tackles; and time to cook something that matters, or hell, just works as a story. Doesn't even do that.